


Prelude to the Storm

by FantasticalNonsense



Series: Avatar Katara (ATLA Element Swap AU) [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Gen, Pre-Canon, a fun little moment, before everything goes to shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 07:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23847175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantasticalNonsense/pseuds/FantasticalNonsense
Summary: 0 AG, late summer. Avatar Katara and fellow Air Nomad Sokka hit a setback during her latest humanitarian mission.
Relationships: Katara & Sokka (Avatar)
Series: Avatar Katara (ATLA Element Swap AU) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718407
Kudos: 19





	Prelude to the Storm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [attackfish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/attackfish/gifts).



> The unofficial prequel to 'The Hardest Part of Saying Goodbye.'
> 
> I'm not entirely satisfied with this fic. I went through five drafts and I don't think I got that balance right between old friends who view each other as siblings yet were also raised far away and apart from each other. That's the challenge of AUs, huh? Trying to keep it familiar while accounting for changes.

“This is the last time I come out with you, Katara, ok? Whatever else you’ve got—haah!—p-planned, count me out!”

Katara rolled her eyes as she removed another boarcupine quill from Sokka’s butt. “You offered to come,” she retorted. “And it was _your_ idea! Don’t act like I forced you into this.”

The two Air Nomads were settled in an abandoned farmstead outside of Tu Zin, an Earth Kingdom frontier town that had been suffering from devasting droughts. Katara had taken it upon herself to come to their aid, but the food and supplies she’d brought were only temporary relief. They needed a more permanent solution.

When she brought this up with Sokka, he suggested that they introduce an irrigation system that could collect water run-off from the mountains and store it in a reservoir, similar to what they used back home. In theory, this should have worked. In practice…

The results were a ruined rice field, several very angry townsfolk, and Katara airbending Sokka out of the way only to have him land on an innocuously sleeping boarcupine. All in all, not her finest moment as the Avatar. 

“Ok, fine, you got me there,” Sokka said. “But I’m still not getting involved in another one of your hair-brained humanitarian missions.”

“That’s not what you said last time.”

“Last time, we didn’t get chased out of town by people brandishing pitchforks!”

“It was just the one guy with a pitchfork! Honestly…” She readjusted her grip on the pliers. “Ok, this is the last one.”

“Thank the Spir—AAAH! Ugh…” He groaned. That quill had been stuck in deep.

Katara instructed Sokka to pull down his pants, checking to ensure that there were no quill tips stuck in his skin. Once she was satisfied, she reached into her bag for her medical kit and produced a tin of antiseptic paste and a roll of bandage cloth. She walked over to the old clay stove where a small fire roared beneath a large wok filled with goat’s milk. She added the paste to the boiling milk and brought it to a simmer. Once finished, she allowed it to cool and brought the wok over to Sokka where she applied a generous amount of paste to his injured area. “There, that should do it,” she said, securing the poultice in place with the bandages. “I’m not sure how long it’ll take to heal, so just focus on resting and keeping your weight off.”

Sokka sighed. He kicked off his pants and readjusted the blankets on his travel pallet. “Any chance of us getting back in time?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Maybe? I wouldn’t count on it, though.”

“Figures.” Muttering ‘karma has it out for me’ and ‘don’t forget to check on Momo,’ he lay on his side and wished her goodnight. Within minutes, he was snoring.

Katara left her companion and stepped outside. Twilight was upon them, more quickly now than it had been a few weeks prior. From the shabby lean-to that was once a barn she spotted Momo, Sokka’s air bison, and her own bison Appa huddled together and fast asleep. She made her way over and slowly, carefully, removed the reins from their horns as to not wake them. There was nothing to be done about the saddles; they would have to stay on.

A warm breeze, carrying the scent of long grass and late-blooming wildflowers, wafted through the air and picked at her loose strands of hair. Katara paused and set the reins down.

 _Another summer gone_ , she thought wistfully. _Feels like it barely started_.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in the sweet scent. A sense of calm settled through her as she absorbed her element, her chi thrumming with energy. It was almost dizzying. She hadn’t felt like this since…since…

How long _had_ it been since she’d taken a moment for herself? Too long, really. Not since she was twelve.

Katara thought back to the day the nuns told her of her destiny. She recalled the uncertainty and excitement she’d felt over the knowledge that _she_ , out of all the Air Nomads born into their nation, was the Avatar. She threw herself into the work the nuns gave her, practicing high-level airbending techniques by day and studying global affairs and customs late into the night. Being the Avatar was a great responsibility, and she was determined to succeed.

(That her friends had all but shunned her, that she was no longer just Katara but something _other_ , she shrugged off. It didn’t matter, really. She had more important things to worry about.)

Yet her mastery and dedication weren’t enough to persuade the Council of Elders, nor her own guardian, Nun Kunzang, to let her begin her _actual_ Avatar training. There were signs that the Fire Nation was gearing up for war against the Earth Kingdom, and reports of Air Nomads being met with increased hostility on their travels. One chilling story claimed that a fourteen-year-old-boy had been killed during a trip to the Outer Islands, his body covered in angry red burns. 

She wasn’t old enough, they said. Wait another year, they said, when the situation was less hostile and they could guarantee her safety.

But people were getting hurt! she’d argue back. She shouldn’t be cooped up in the Eastern Air Temple. She should be out there protecting them or at least learning the skills to do so. It wasn’t fair!

Tu Zin had been her chance to prove that she could handle a large-scale crisis, even if she wasn’t yet a fully-realized Avatar. All she’d managed to do was to make a bigger mess of things.

Katara’s eyes pricked. Angrily, she wiped at them. Now wasn’t the time to indulge in self-pity. She needed to focus on getting Sokka healed, then finding a way to make it up to the people of Tu Zin. And she would do so—provided the nuns allowed her to leave the temple again once they heard about this.

She collected the reins and placed them in a neat pile next to Appa. Then, she made herself comfortable on his tail and settled in.

Appa’s contented groan reverberated through her as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A week passed before they were able to set off for the Eastern Air Temple. Sokka had developed a fever and Katara feared that his wounds had become infected, which would require them to trek further inland for a doctor. Thankfully, the poultice seemed to have worked and he was once more fit for travel, albeit still sore. She watched him as he adjusted Momo’s reins, looking for any signs of discomfort he may be hiding.

“I know, buddy, I know,” Sokka said, chatting with Momo in his usual habit. “But we’ll be back at the Southern Air Temple in a few days, then you can roam to your heart’s content. Besides, I might be able to wrangle some extra moon peaches out of Gyatso. He’s bound to have leftovers after all that baking. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” He patted the air bison’s head affectionately, then proceeded to mount.

The mention of Gyatso and his culinary skills sent a flash of guilt through Katara. Today officially marked the last day of summer. Right now, monks and nuns across each of the four Air Temples would be observing the seasonal transition into fall with meditative prayer. This would be followed by the end-of-summer festival, featuring games, music, dancing, and more food and drink than the eye could see! It was one of the highlights of the year, and Sokka was missing out because of her.

“Katara?”

She started and turned her head. “Huh?”

“I asked if you’re ready to go,” Sokka said, looking down with concern.

“Oh, yeah. All set.” Katara leaped onto Appa’s head and sat down. “We should stop for the night once we reach the coast. The last I need is you complaining about saddle bum while we’re flying over open sea,” she teased.

“Hey! I’m not that bad.”

“ _Sure,_ you’re not.” Gathering the reins in hand Katara cried out “Yip-yip!” Sokka followed suit, and within seconds, they were airborne.

They travelled for hours over sparsely-green peaks that dotted the landscape of the south-eastern Earth Kingdom. As night drew in and they neared the coast, the sky began to take on a strange reddish hue, deep and rich and more vibrant than any sunset either Air Nomad had witnessed. Katara shivered. There was something… _portent_ in the air, she just couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

Sokka motioned to her and pointed to a stretch of flat mountaintops lying ahead. She nodded and brought Appa down to land. They set up camp and ensured the air bison were comfortable before proceeding to eat. They shared the last of their rations and what little foodstuffs they’d manage to scavenge around the farmstead. It would be a lean trip tomorrow, but they could last a day.

The sun dipped behind the mountains. Then, curiously, a bright streak of fire emerged from the west and roared through the sky, as though it had erupted from the sun itself.

“What is that?” Katara asked. 

Sokka put down his waterskin. “I’m not sure.” He scrambled over to Momo’s saddle and pulled out his telescope. He brought it with him on every trip, regardless of where they were going. Adjusting the focus, he peered into it. Then, excitedly, he cried, “Katara, you’ve got to see this!”

Katara took the proffered telescope and looked into it. What she saw was a large, brilliant ball of flame that for all appearances looked like a miniature sun, but it wasn’t. It radiated a different type of energy that she could feel even from this far below. It stoked something inside her, something hot and ancient and powerful that made her want to reach out and take that energy for herself. The idea thrilled her, and frightened her, too.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. Slowly, almost reluctantly, she returned the telescope to Sokka. “But I don’t understand what it is.”

“It’s a comet,” Sokka explained, his voice full of awe. “A rare, celestial phenomena when space rock enters the atmosphere and is set alight. Monk Phuntsok often talks about them in astronomy, though it’s usually in relation to omens and spirits and the like.” He paused. “Wait, we have the same classes. Don’t you know about this?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know that comets _looked_ like this,” Katara responded, eyes lingering on the orbiting sphere. She couldn’t shake off that sense of unease.

Sokka whistled. “Avatar training must be _really_ time-consuming if you’re skipping out on lessons.”

“I’m not skipping out!” she insisted. “The nuns just have me focused on other things.”

“Like plotting outings with your brother-in-arms just to prove a point?”

Katara flushed. “Oh, shut up!”

Sokka chuckled. He walked over to where Appa and Momo were resting and made himself comfortable on Momo’s tail, gazing upward to the sky.

Katara joined him. After a moment’s silence, she said, “I’m sorry that we missed the festival.”

Sokka shrugged. “There’s always next year. I don’t regret helping those people. And if you hadn’t gotten me out of the way, things could’ve been a lot worse.” He winced and readjusted himself. “But let’s avoid boarcupines in the future, okay?”

Katara raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said you weren’t getting involved in any more of my ‘hair-brained humanitarian missions’ for fear of pitchforks.”

“ _Weeelll_ , since you did such a good job with keeping me from dying, I might reconsider. You’ll have to be extra nice to me though. You can start with cleaning out the gunk from Momo’s toes—”

Katara punched him in the arm. “Fat chance, _brother_.”

They laughed. Sokka could be a pain sometimes, but he was clever and thorough and always knew how to cheer her up. And no matter what scrapes they got into he always had her back. She was grateful to have him as a friend.

Katara smiled and returned her attention to the comet. She pushed aside her unease and watched it streak through the blood-red sky until everything faded to black.

**Author's Note:**

> Katara and Sokka are siblings in this universe, they just don't know that they're actually related. I headcanon that Katara learns about this when she explores Roku's past life and sees a vision of herself as a newborn with a toddler next to her that her parents call 'Sokka.'


End file.
